72 years on from the end of World War II, calls for the abolition of nuclear weapons and a halt to militarisation have not waned in efforts by women to bring world peace.

Professor Kozue Akibayashi, the international president of WILPF, led such calls last night.

“It has been my source of energy to be connected to women in many parts of the world who share a similar concern of the usage of power, the masculine idea that puts more importance in the use of force to solve disputes or to gain superiority of others.

“It has been my source of energy to work with women in other parts of the world to bring about a more equal world and to bring gender equality, which we feel very strongly can bring world peace so threats do not exist or nuclear power, because the use of nuclear arms are not justified,” she said.

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Dr Akibayashi, who teaches at Doshisha University’s Graduate School of Global Studies in Osaka, Japan, highlighted the significant number of US bases on the island of Okinawa and the ongoing tensions surrounding the Korean peninsula to reinforce the absence of de-militarisation globally.

Value of human life“I find the horrific events that unfolded 72 years ago on August 6, 1945 and August 9, 1945 during the heights of World War II deeply upsetting and forces me to question the value placed on human life and humanity as a whole.

“The survivors of these nuclear bombs, known as Hibakusha, have shared their stories that clearly illustrate the pains and sufferings they’ve had to endure and overcome to lead a somewhat normal life. It was a price they never should have paid.”

“The bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki possess a great reminder that any technological breakthrough or advancement should be used for constructive purposes that pushes the human race forward, which is the ability for everyone to do more than they ever could.

“However, the opposite was achieved with the creation of nuclear bombs as they pose a constant threat to our existence, our most fundamental human right,” he said.

WILPF and its supporters also held a candlelit vigil in the form of a peace symbol to remember the approximately 226,000 people who lost their lives.

Despite the wind and the rain, and thanks to the persistence of the younger generation, the peace symbol remained lit for some time.

The Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, signed by 122 countries on July 7, 2017, provides some hope for future generations, although the fight is not over, WILPF Aotearoa president Megan Hutching reflected.

Treaty ‘significant step’“This treaty is a significant step towards nuclear disarmament, but it is only a step. We all need to be active and continue to work towards complete nuclear disarmament. WILPF would also say complete disarmament, no weapons.

“We hope that this treaty banning the last legal remaining weapons of mass destruction will provide the ethical momentum to banish them to history and for that to happen sooner rather than later.”